Functional outcome of diaphyseal humerus fractures treated with LCDCP and intramedullary nail - a comparative study

Background: Diaphyseal humerus fractures are not uncommon in orthopedics; accounting for approximately 3% of all fractures and represent 20% of all humeral fracture s. Most of the humeral shaft fractures are best tre ated non-operatively with fairly high union rates. With recent advances, encouraging results following internal fixation ha d led to the expansion of surgical indications. But again the ri ght procedure and implant of choice, remains contro versial. Usual surgical modalities include compression plating (DC P) and intramedullary nailing (IMN). Literature review states that previous studies comparing these two implants have came out with varying results. Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the functional outcome of adult diaphyseal humerus fractures treated by limited co ntact dynamic compression plating and intramedullary interlocked nailing. Materials and Methods: We prospectively randomised twenty eight patients with closed diaphyseal humeru s fractures presented to our hospital, over a perio d of two years and operated with either limited contact dynamic compre ssion plate (LC-DCP) or Intramedullary interlocked nail (IMIL). A minimum of six months follow-up period was completed only by twenty four patients with twelve in each group. Functional scoring was done based on the Rodriguez-Merchan criteria at 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks for all t he patients. Results & Conclusion: Our findings showed subtle differences favouring th e nailing group, yet statistically it turned out to be insignificant. We conclude that none of the i mplant is superior to other, in terms of fracture u nion and functional outcome. Hence the implant choice should be at the discretion of the operating surgeon.